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Original challenge by @keptin
First thread of this challenge by @Mjp1050
Kerbal Express Airlines is in need of updating its aging fleet of regional jets and turboprops. It's a big client, operating at hundreds of airports around Kerbin, and that means big fleet sales. Does your aircraft company offer the right kind of aircraft for the job?
Kerbal Express wants profitable aircraft. They're looking for aircraft that meet or exceed their requirements for fuel efficiency, speed, range, passenger load, ease of training, and cost of maintenance, for the right price that gives them the best return on investment. They also want a design that's flexible, offering variations of the same design for a variety of different routes.
The Rules:
KSP version 1.3/1.4 compatible
Stock parts + Airplane Plus + Kerbal Aircraft Expansion (optional - and no, we can't include some other mod you suggest, sorry. If we did that it would be hideously complicated)
Making History Expansion is NOT allowed, due to it not being freely available to everyone.
TweakScale is allowed, just please don't ruin the spirit of the challenge with it.
The Mk1 and Mk2 Crew Cabins count as 8 Passengers
Mk3 Passenger Module and Size 2 Crew Cabin count as 24 Passengers
Small aircraft must have at least 1 pilot in a cockpit, and medium-large at least 2 pilots.
Command seats can be used, but you must build a cabin around them.
No rocket engines. Aircraft engines only.
You don't have to use propeller engines in the Turboprop category, nor do you have to use jets for the Jet categories.
Electric propellers are allowed providing the power comes from fuel cells.
Minor clipping is allowed, within reason.
A rolling runway takeoff is required.
Takeoff & Landing speed of no more than 80 m/s on land , or 120 m/s on water.
Your aircraft must stay intact. [No drop tanks, etc.]
Model variants may only have minor differences between them to be considered.
15,000m altitude limit, unless in the Supersonic category
Aircraft must stay in the atmosphere
Mach 1 speed limit (343 m/s), unless in the Supersonic or Jumbo Jet category
What is a variant?
To improve your design's competitiveness, your company can submit a variant of the same design (See Wants section below). A variant is built on the same model platform with minor changes in design to give it, say, extra range, or extra passenger room. This is most commonly achieved by adding fuel tanks or lengthening the cabin, sometimes with minor changes to wing and emmpanage design. To qualify as a variant, it must generally have the same structural layout, meaning engines, gear, and lift surfaces must be in roughly the same location & design. Basically, if you make it too different, it will be considered a separate model/submission.
What Kerbal Express Air Wants, By Category:
For all categories, Range will be calculated by fuel capacity / burn rate * speed / 1000m at the recommended cruising speed & altitude.
Seaplane
Must be able to land on and take off from water and land
Range of at least 600km
Cruising Speed of at least 110 m/s
16+ Passengers
Turboprop
Range of at least 800km
Cruising Speed of at least 130 m/s
24+ Passengers
Small Regional Jet
Range of at least 1000km
Cruising Speed of at least 220 m/s
40+ Passengers
Small Hopper
Range of at least 400km
Cruising Speed of at least 180 m/s
56+ Passengers
See 'Hopper Information' below.
Medium Regional Jet
Range of at least 1500km
Cruising Speed of at least 240 m/s
72+ Passengers
Supersonic Jet
Range of at least 1500km
Cruising Speed of at least 330 m/s
40+ Passengers
Hopper
Range of at least 400km
Cruising Speed of at least 210 m/s
104+ Passengers
Jumbo Jet
Range of at least 4000km
152+ Passengers
Takeoff speed can be higher that 80 m/s
Super Jumbo
Range of at least 4000km
800+ Passengers
Takeoff speed can be higher that 80 m/s
Hopper information:
Hoppers are a class added more recently than other classes, a hopper is judged very differently. A hopper is an aircraft designed to be very compact to save space in big inner cities, where land can be absurdly expensive, while ferrying passengers out of the city. (hence a short range is okay, range above 400km is largely unnecessary for hoppers.) Climb rate should also be maximized, to clear skyscrapers.
Judging Criteria:
Every submission that meets the requirements will be ranked with feedback from Kerbal Express Jet test pilots, but how well it ranks depends on: (Note, this is elaborated on later)
How well it meets or exceeds the category requirements
Cost of Aircraft
Fuel Efficiency at recommended cruising speed & altitude
Ease of maintenance; fewer parts and fewer engines are preferred
Passenger comfort
How to Submit. Your post must include the following:
The name of your aircraft company and model names for the designs you're submitting. Please clarify what category you're entering the plane in.
At least one screenshot or very large bold text or something in your submissions. This is so we can more easily see it is a submission, we don't want to accidentally skip yours.
A link to your craft files in your submission post. No PMing me.
The price of your aircraft times 1,000. (If $23,555 in-game, submit as $23,555,000. This is just for fun to make prices more realistic.)
The recommended cruising speed and altitude for your aircraft. This is the speed and altitude you've fine-tuned your designs for, ensuring the best balance of speed, range, and fuel efficiency. It's also what the test pilots will be testing your aircraft at for judging.
(Optional, but will help in review) Pitch your aircraft to the Kerbal Express Airlines executives, selling them on why it should be purchased for their fleet. Include any notable features (even if fictional).
==========================================================================
The Judges:
@panzerknoef
@neistridlar
@CrazyJebGuy @NightshineRecorralis @no_intelligence (Judge of last thread) @1Revenger1 (Judge of last thread)
@Mjp1050 (OP of last thread)
Challenge Submissions
Seaplane
@ImmaStegosaurus!'s Ka-24 - A very high performing, albeit pricey, seaplane.
@Samwise Potato's SF-A232 "Lupin" - Deceptively powerful and high-performing, and can take off and land from just about anywhere. The Lupin has all the qualities we're looking for in a seaplane.
NEW THREAD ADDITIONS TO LEADER BOARD:
@Wanderfound's Kerbski - It's a fast, and fairly good flying boat, but it costs a fair bit.
@TaRebelSheep's Kessna T-170 - It's very small, but safe and very easy to fly, and it's cheap. The cockpit seats two, so it's an ideal training aircraft.
@CrazyJebGuy's GAI K-38\52 - A safe, fast float-plane that flies well, is comfortable and cheap, and it has a very long range.
@CrazyJebGuy's K-61\a - A cheaper version of the K-38\52, carries more passengers, but the new passengers have an unpleasant ride.
@Haruspex's K57D Tern - The seaplane variant of the successful land Tern, but it's a bit of a let down, being much more expensive, slower and now with a short range. It sacrificed all the things we liked about previous Tern planes, so that it could take off and land on water.
@Andetch's ADX Type G - It needs a huge runway to take off, and on landing it can easily kill half the passengers, so it's limited to sea only, where it is average, which is not good enough to justify only being able to land on water.
@NightshineRecorralis's Sea Dragon Series - Very large seaplanes, the small ones fly fairly well but when they expanded it they didn't add engines, so the larger ones perform badly. It's a prime example of expanding a plane done wrong.
@NightshineRecorralis's Sea Newt Series - It's high maintenance and uncomfortable, ruling it out for economy and luxury routes, and the pontoons fall off, but once they do it makes a great land plane, and so we bought some of the cargo variant.
@hoioh's Skikull - It looks very old, and it's very slow.But it is very comfortable, and it makes a good short range island hopper.
@Blasty McBlastblast's BS-16 Splashy - It's really pretty average, excepting the range and price. It's quite cheap, but the range does not meet the 600km requirement.
@Samwise Potato's SF-A116 Tulip - It's tiny and very cute, it looks almost silly, but trust us - it is not a silly choice for a seaplane to buy.
@no_intelligence's Kerijew K-100 - Looks 80 years old. None the less, lives up to our standards well, except it costs a small fortune.
Turboprop
@Eidahlil's Dusty Turboprop - A dirt cheap but surprisingly fast design, and it gets the job done.
@ImmaStegosaurus!'s Ka-12 series - Inefficient and insanely unreliable. Not recommended unless the engines are replaced.
@no_intelligence's Kombarder 300 series - Very hardy, and can take off and land on just about any surface.
@GDJ's AVRO Prop-Star - Very solidly built, comfortable, with a surprisingly long range.
@AeroGav's "Fulmar" Turboprop - An aircraft with some puzzling design choices, but ultimately a wonderful turboprop with a long range and easy takeoffs and landings.
@CrazyJebGuy's GAI Turbo-XL Classic - Offers good performance and a very appealing exterior. This plane is also quite large for a turboprop.
@panzerknoef's Bx-1/2 "Shoebox" series - Very inexpensive and they do get the job done, but you'd better be a good pilot because the Shoebox lacks functional windows in the cockpit.
NEW THREAD ADDITIONS TO LEADER BOARD:
@Blasty McBlastblast's BS-32 (and 24) Regional - Well rounded aircraft, in almost every way.
@panzerknoef's CL-2-RRE - A fairly standard turboprop. Slow, but climbs and accelerated very fast. Perfect for short haul smaller routes.
@CrazyJebGuy's PAT Postman and Stubs - Very cheap, very fast, and uncomfortable.
@TheFlyingKerman's Kerbus K-220 - A dirt cheap but very capable turboprop, can even take off from water. It would make a solid fleet workhorse. Improved off of K-210.
@Spudmeist3r's SSRJ-1001 - Engineer one: "Hey, you know how they buy good planes?" Engineer 2: "Yeah?" Engineer 1: "What if we made it not like that?"
@Joseph Kerman's WCT IH-1 - A tiny plane, performs like heaven, climbs and flies and turns like a dream. Unfortunately has an abominable range of just 250km!
@JosephKerman's WCT BJ-1 - Very small, very fast and with a very, very long range. A bit uncomfortable though.
@CrazyJebGuy's GAI TurboXL Classic C - A cheaper Turbo-XL Classic, a bit slower but it has fixed a few issues and has a range of just 760km.
@HamnavoePer's CNRE-458 - The drop-tanks are a novel idea, but it doesn't seem like the tech is quite there yet, and it's too slow.
@TheFlyingKerman's Kerbus K-210 - At only $10 mill it is very cheap, it is very versatile and can act as a flying boat, while cruising at 300m/s. Unfortunately it has very poor cockpit visibilty.
@HamnavoePer's Isometric I (+ Bush) - It's meant to operate off of bad airfields and rural areas in the wilderness, and would be really good for this, if it didn't tail strike so often.
@NightshineRecorralis's Canberra P - A cheap, speedy plane. Unfortunately it is a bit tough to fly, and it has a short range.
@Andetch's Chalduro - It's got an insanely long range, but it is very difficult to fly. Would recommend if your pilots are very skilled.
@TaRebelSheep's AEG-5s Asymmetrical Flyer - Utterly bizarre, and has odd handling, but it's actually a decent turboprop.
@TheEpicSquared's ISRJ-32b - A really good plane, fast maneuverable comfortable with no faults we could see! Even a bit cheap.
@MiffedStarfish's F-Tech CAL- 4 - It's really not very good.... Except for comfort, which will provide good advertising material.
Small Regional Jet
@AeroGav's Screechcraft Starcraft - A very fast plane with exceptional range, but features sub-par maneuverability. Also pulls double duty as a supersonic jet.
@tsgaerospace's SP-32-1 "Arrow" - An absolute delight to fly, and quite reasonably priced. The Arrow has all the qualities we're looking for in a small regional jet.
@dundun92's URJ-101 - A well-priced, 4-dimensional aircraft that defies all known laws of physics.
@TheEpicSquared's ISRJ-32 - Offers wonderful performance, but at the expense of Kerbal comfort.
@aerodis's AerLeeker 3.6 - Offers a comfortable and smooth ride, but is quite expensive.
@Cabbink's Alice - We're not entirely sure what this is supposed to be, but it does make for a very versatile, if expensive small regional jet.
@AeroGav's Screechcraft Starcraft NEO - Unique in looks and above average in all other categories. The Starcraft NEO has all the qualities we're looking for in a small regional jet.
@no_intelligence's Kombarder 400 series - Offers a neo-futuristic aesthetic and wonderful performance all around. Except on landings: it bounces.
NEW THREAD ADDITIONS TO LEADER BOARD:
@Thor Wotansen's Nomad - This aircraft is a decent regional jet, but it can also land and take off near enough anywhere, even the sea.
@kerbinorbiter's Kerbair K-32-200 - It is uncomfortable and expensive, but it has a range that would put most Jumbo jets to shame!
@valens's EK-4e Teal - A fairly long ranged, inexpensive machine, it's a solid choice for a small regional jet.
@HolidayTheLeek's AC-H1 Island Hopper - Very very expensive, very slow, and it is powered with a nuclear reactor. But it has a practically unlimited range.
@Haruspex's K57A Tern - " A fast, fuel efficient, and reasonably priced design. What's not to like? The comfort, a bit."
@TaRebelSheep's B3 Lance - High capacity, long range, very comfortable aircraft for an average price. It's a strong contender certainly.
@CrazyJebGuy's Skots Small - Jack of all trades, master of none, and it's expensive. Also looks like it was built 80 years ago.
@NightshineRecorralis's Dash Series - They maneuver very nicely and are comfortable, just really good planes; unfortunately they are a bit pricey.
@kerbinorbiter's Kerbair K-32 - Really good range and comfort, bit above average price, but let down by poor handling.
@sdj64's Bluejay 32 - A pretty typical, but very practical design, for a fair price. Would recommend.
@1Revenger1's SPP-1a/b Phoenix - A really odd plane. Two cockpits, both mounted on top in a weird way, and wings that are normal until they extend all the way back. Very poor maneuverability, but it has a crazy long range.
@alric8's Cathiogac 2.- A classy, yet ordinary and cheap aircraft. Bit slow.
Medium Regional Jet
@SuicidalInsanity's IA-720 - Offers an innovative design at a reasonable price. The IA-720 has all the qualities that we're looking for in a medium regional jet.
@logman's Kerman Dove - Unreliable and very unsafe: it's not uncommon for the rear cabins to be destroyed on landing. Avoid this plane.
@logman's Kerman Stingray - Very solidly built, reliable, and handles wonderfully. Hampered only by its large price tag.
@ImmaStegosaurus!'s Ka-62 - Sturdy and reliable, but suffers from a large price tag and low fuel efficiency. Its exterior is reminiscent of designs from 50 years ago, too.
@Bombstar10's Universal Transport Mark One Civilian (UT-1B) - AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
NEW THREAD ADDITIONS TO LEADER BOARD:
@Blasty McBlastblast's BS-72 Medium - A bit expensive, but powerful fast and comfortable.
@Gaarst's Kerbalespace C-1K - An expensive, but reliable and luxurious passenger liner.
@kerbinorbiter's Kerbair K-20 - It's comfortable, but it's slow, and it's quite cheap. Would recommend.
@CrazyJebGuy's Skots Medium - Uncomfortable, but turns well and has a long range. Expensive though.
@FleshJeb's Klonkorde - It's a pretty good plane, very long and sleek, but it's not extremely cheap. It is though, very pleasant to fly in.
@panzerknoef's Lassen - A pretty standard medium regional, it can take off from small runways and flies pretty well.
@NightshineRecorralis's Olympus 100 Series - Nice looking, well built aircraft, but it comes at a steep price.
@sdj64's Goosewing 80 - A modern looking design, a dream to fly, but it's not so good at passenger comfort.
Supersonic Jet
@AeroGav's Screechcraft Starcraft - A fast plane with exceptional range, but features sub-par maneuverability. Also pulls double duty as a small regional jet.
@Bob_Saget54's SAI Concorde Mark II - Very fast with a long range, but suffers from an inferior airframe and high maintenance costs.
@TheEpicSquared's ISSJ-40 - Blindingly fast, inexpensive, and high-performing, but sacrifices some Kerbal comfort.
@shdwlrd's Hope series - Very fun to fly, and is just plain cool to look at, but suffers from a high fuel consumption.
@reachmac's Karvo 370 - Handles well, but requires a larger runway than most airports currently have. Not recommended unless the buyer is absolutely sure the airports can support it.
@Laie's Sonic - This thing can basically fly itself, it's that stable in the air. Maintenance costs are high, though.
@sevenperforce's Transcendent Spirit - Insanely difficult to control, and the landing gear is insufficient for such a large aircraft. Not recommended.
@Eidahlil's Potato - Understandably difficult to fly, but offers good Kerbal comfort at a low price and enough range to circumnavigate the planet.
NEW THREAD ADDITIONS TO LEADER BOARD:
@HamnavoePer's Zoomer - It deserves the name. A compact, fast and reliable jet, done on the cheap. And it can circumnavigate Kerbin twice on one tank of fuel.
@panzerknoef's Dotsero - A very cheap Supersonic, it's competent, and very cheap. Many seaplanes cost over double the price of a Dotsero.
@MostExcellent's 2707 - A well rounded versatile supersonic jet, we like this. You couldn't go far wrong with these.
@CrazyJebGuy's Skots Speedmaster - A fast, long ranged, but very uncomfortable, expensive, over-engineered, and very inefficient design.
@HamnavoePer's Delta II - It's a great plane, but it's absurdly expensive, and not the best at passenger comfort.
@SpacePigeon's Rapid 1-100 and 1-200 - Flies very low, by supersonic standards, even floatplane standards! Would not recommend for flying over populated areas.
@NightshineRecorralis's Pegasus - A decent supersonic, but it climbs very slowly. Although when up there, it's a long ranged luxurious liner.
@panzerknoef's Lassen B - It was a decent medium regional jet, but then they made it into a high capacity, long range fuel efficient SST and we like it!
@53miner53's 18537 Tech SupersonicJet1 - BOOM, WHIZZZ, AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH! THUNK!
@Jimbimbibble's Daxworks Lightning Cruiser - A well made plane, exactly what a luxury supersonic jet should be. Fast, and reasonably comfortable.
@Im The One's TOHC SST-1 - A flying pancake, it's very uncomfortable but it's a nice airshow plane.
@TheFlyingKerman's Kerbus K-350 - A very cheap, very fast and comfortable plane, it's a solid workhorse. We would absolutely recommend it.
@Samwise Potato's SF-S240 Marigold - It's got a crazy long range, and is pretty well rounded. Would recommend. Good workhorse.
@notsodeadjeb's PBY Katalina - It's a supersonic, INCREDIBLY long ranged float plane. Unfortunately costs a few pretty pennies.
@qzgy's Kramer - SSTP-34 Benirshke - Long ranged, really good plane, sadly very expensive. Also they somehow managed to create a randomly powerful pitch control.
@AtomicSnails's FF-Shockcone - A decent SST, it's very versatile and can fill a fair few different roles.
@Samwise Potato's SF-J240 - A supersonic powered by wheeslies? What magic is this? Good magic, that's what.
@panzerknoef's Arenal - A practical well balanced aircraft. But what does it look like? The only picture has it covered in sight obscuring flames.
Jumbo Jet
@Andetch's Day Fury - It's very fast an maneuverable, but with a range that is easily exceeded by seaplanes, and it takes off at very high speed.
@NightshineRecorralis's Challenger Seaplane - A bit lacking at everything except being a HUGE FLYING BOAT.
@CrazyJebGuy's GAI Skots Mouse - Somebody added wings and a few jet engines to a ship, and it's cheap.
@NildimensionalString's Winter Tech Humpback Superheavy Passenger Airliner - It's expensive, slow, short ranged, will probably explode and it's obvious why the original company who designed it went bankrupt.
@sh1pman's Keladi Corporation Albatross II - It has very long range, and is generally pretty good, but it comes with a steep price tag.
@Cols's A797 - It's slow, handles poorly, it climbs slowly and has a very short range, but it's dirt cheap, so we bought 3.
@AeroGav's Screehcraft Grande Dumbo - A wonderful plane, it's luxurious, flies like a dream, but it's expensive.
@CrazyJebGuy's GAI GP-1a - This jumbo carries cargo too - apart from that it just looks odd and is otherwise fairly normal.
@Andetch's X Series Night Fury - It's a really big fighter jet with passenger cabins, and a short range by Jumbo standards.
@no_intelligence's Koeing 747-100 Super - Hard to fly, very short range and expensive, but with comfort and luxury straight out of the golden age of air travel.
@Not sure's B-1337 Swift Moon - A very unpleasant, loud airplane. It costs a lot of money.
@NightshineRecorralis's Olympus 250 - A fat version of the 100, carries more passengers but with a shorter range and it can tail-strike if you aren't careful.
@macktruck6666's L-1011 Jumbo Jet - It's very expensive and doesn't perform well, but it does have luxury seating!
@Kneves's WH-04 - A short ranged, very hard to fly thing, it needs a tremendously big runway too and we will not buy any.
@Bombstar10's Grizzly ST - 3 Civilian - It costs an arm, leg 4 fingers and a left toe, for a plane that is guaranteed to explode, it is slow and uncomfortable and is absolutely, undoubtedly THE WORST SINGLE PLANE we have EVER TESTED.
Super Jumbo
@NightshineRecorralis's Colossus - It's flipping massive, 1152 passengers, gets off the runway like a turbo-prop, flies like a cruise ship.
@CrazyJebGuy's Sky Titanic - A wonderful idea on paper, but in turns the wings fall off and everybody dies.
Any and all suggestions to improve this challenge are welcome.
A new thread was started because OP of previous thread went away, and we needed to update this. We also get to allow KAX.
How your Plane will be judged
This information is only accurate for my reviews, it is however pretty close likely to other reviewers.
We will not modify your plane in any way, except action groups sometimes and in flight controls. (Such as changing the braking slider on a landing gear)
To get a good review from me, your plane should have most of these qualities:
-Be cheap, at least per passenger
-Fly well
-Be reasonably fast
-Have a long range
-Be a comfortable plane to fly in (I explain this in detail later)
-Be reasonably fuel efficient
-Not hit the tail on the ground during takeoff/landing
-Be safe (important), doesn't need to be overly good at it, just needs to not spin itself out of the sky or have the wings fall off or something
With comfort, three things are taken into account, noise, vibrations and views. Noise is essentially how close an engine is to the cabins. Vibrations is affected by structure a bit more, but distance is important too. An engine mounted directly to the back of a cabin is very bad for vibrations, or if it is mounted on side. If there is a lot of parts in between them, vibrations are probably not an issue.
Views are less important, we don't deduct marks for them, but if it's good it will help a craft's review.
Pro tip: If your plane does this, we won't buy it: https://youtu.be/jCULG2b6248
(I was trying to develop a 1300 passenger super-jumbo)

CREDIT TO @daniel l. FOR THE ORIGINAL GEMENI
ALSO CREDIT TO @Thomas P. AND HIS DEVELOPMENT CREW FOR KOPERNICUS
Gemeni is a mod thought up by @daniel l., and he has let me continue this mod.
Now, it changes the Kerbol system into a smaller, binary red dwarf system.
List of Planets:
Download from SpaceDock
License: CC-BY-SA

this challenge used to be on the very first page of the challenges list. it is where you have three minutes from launch to get as far away from kerbin as possible.
1. no cheats or mods
2. its counted as how far in height from kerbin you get in three minutes. since I doubt that anyone without cheats or modes could get out of kerbins soi in three minutes.
3. proof, pic of stock in-game clock at three minutes and the altitude. videos also accepted, even wanted.
4. if exploited, please say how. seperate
if you need more info then just ask.
need to watch dog, post my attempt tomorrow.
leader board:
1. thomas h. with 1318 km
2. cunjo carl with 1134 km
3. man eating ape with 830 km

Get the mod HERE
old thread here
Backstory
The tiny planet Kerbin, covered in many villages, had recently begun to undergo an industrial revolution. After discovering coal and oil within their planet's crust, they used it to fuel the fires of many sorts of steam and combustion engines. They built factories, formed alliances, and eventually started arming themselves against one another. The Kerbal villages were fragmented and all had different ideas about who was the best. Finally all of the tribes went to all out war. The war lasted about two Kerbin years, destroying many buildings and using up lots of valuable resources. Finally the war ended, and the leaders of all the villages came together to unite Kerbin into a single state: The United Conglomeration of Kerbal Villages. The new system was a democratic system, where the population of Kerbin would vote for the president and governors. The villages expanded into small towns, and grew more. Railways were built connecting the towns, and life was peaceful and happy for about twenty years.
But eventually tragedy struck. The coal mines at the K2 mountain range had been totally depleted, and the nearby offshore oil rig had been sucked dry. The price of oil and coal went up, and it was realized that the planet was a lot smaller than they thought it was. The President of Kerbin, Mr. Johnfitz Kerman, called for the creation of a program that would eventually lead to the exploration and exploitation of the heavenly bodies: The Kerbal Space Program. The idea behind the K.S.P. was to invest what little resources Kerbin had left into getting resources back from the other planets, exploring the interesting properties of the other worlds along the way. The old oil refinery east of the K2 mountain range was converted into the Kerbin Spaceport Complex, or KSC.
On his way home from the grand opening ceremony of the KSC, Johnfitz Kerman was killed by an ironic meteor strike.
Since then, many politicians have suggested that the Kerbal Space Program is a complete and total waste of resources, and have done everything in their power to sour the space program's reputation. They've thoroughly slashed the space program's budget, and have constantly tried to limit the amount of progress they can make.
Nevertheless, the people of Kerbin have always looked at the dots in the night sky with wonder, and they hope they will one day be able to travel to them.
Game Settings
Allow Quicksaves and Quickloads
Crew Permadeath
Resource Abundance: 110%
Re-entry Heating: 150% (Note: This requires save file editing)
Start Funds: $9000
Start Reputation: -3%
Funds Gain: 10%
Rep Gain: 50%
Science Gain: 50%
Funds Loss: 150%
Rep Loss: 150%
Mods
Toy Solar System
RemoteTech
Texture Replacer and Multicolor Suits Pack
Stock Replacement Assets
AtomicAge (which would be pretty overpowered if I ever end up using it!)
Corvus pod
Sky Tonemapper
PlanetShine
Distant Object Enhancement
Kerbal Engineer
THE KERBAL WILDS
Flight One
The Fat Arrow Mk1 was pulled to the launchpad by a tractor, where it was put upright. Jebediah got out of the tractor and eyed the rocket excitedly. Jebediah Kerman was the chosen pilot because he was known to be one of the best race car drivers. Jebediah Kerman was able to consistently win car races due to his special "Jebediah Maneuver," a maneuver which consists of the driver of the car in question replacing a low-speed with a flattened brain by going at high speed on the inner edge of the curve of the race track. Jebediah Kerman was very capable of handling the high gee forces, and was thus the obvious choice for a rocket rider.
Jebediah took out his portable radio. "I'm supposed to fly that thing?" he asked. "No, you're supposed to just sit there and watch it fly up without you." Said Gene Kerman, who was sitting in mission control. Jeb frowned. "OF COURSE YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO FLY THAT THING!" Gene screamed. Jeb smiled, and climbed inside the capsule. It was nearly time for the rocket to launch. The radio inside the capsule clicked on. "You've got about a minute left until launch." Gene said. Jebediah pressed the big red button that said "Do not press this button until about one minute before the launch." The small battery that was attached to the capsule was automatically unplugged. Jeb could hear a woman in the corner of the mission control room counting down to the launch. Gene Kerman asked the staff of mission control if they were ready. They all replied with something along the lines of "Might work probably, maybe." Ten seconds were left. "Nine. Eight. Seven. Six." Gene decided there was no point in postponing the launch, as it would probably not get much better than it is now. "We are go for launch." He said. Jeb smiled even more. "Three. Two. One." Jeb heard the 'one' and pressed the big button that was labeled "BOOM." With a fizzle, then a crackle, then a roar, the Fat Arrow flew into the skies above the Kerbin Spaceport Complex. The rocket only fired for a few seconds before it shut down, and the vessel began to slow down. As the altimeter passed 872 meters, the mission controllers applauded themselves and roared with joy. 872 meters was the previous Kerballed altitude record. The rocket continued upward, until finally gravity had won against momentum, and the maximum height of 13 hectometers was achieved. The parachute was deployed to slow Jeb's fall. The craft smacked onto the ground, but the girders kept the craft from exploding. Jebediah got out of the ship, which had landed just a few hundred meters from the launchpad. He promptly fell off the ladder, hit his head, and blacked out...
...the next thing he knew he woke up in a hospital with three nurses and Walt Kerman at his side. Jeb spoke up. "What'd I miss?"
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Valentina Kerman was tired and groggy. It was the early morning in her town, and she was out of tea. She sat down at the table near the window of her small, cold apartment. She turned on her radio set to listen to the news.
"We now return to the news, sponsored by Kerlington Kerman's Paper Products."
A steam train blew its whistle and began chuffing by Valentina's window. She turned up the volume of the radio set.
"It's a very exciting day here at the Kerbal Spaceport Complex, we are about seven minutes away from the launch of the Fat Arrow Mk1. The pilot, Jebediah Kerman, is best known for his skills on the racetrack. His experience with high gee forces will definitely help in the pursuit of space advancements. This mission will pave the way for future missions into space. We have with us Dr. Wernher von Kerman, the lead designer of the Kerbal Space Program's rocket science program..."
Valentina frowned. She remembered the Kerbal Space Program. The K.S.P. was the reason she was fired from her job as a test pilot. After all, if there's rockets going into space, what's the purpose of flying planes higher and faster? Valentina turned off the radio set. She looked at the scale model of The Heightflier, the aircraft she used to break the altitude record. She decided to turn the radio back on.
The radio made a fizzle sound, then a crackle sound, then a roaring sound. "The rocket is going up!" said the reporter. "Six hundred meters... Seven hundred... will it break eight?" He continued. The sounds of applause and celebration crackled through the radio's speakers. "We have confirmation that the Fat Arrow has made it past 872 meters, the record for the highest altitude, previously set by fighter pilot Valentina Kerman!"
Valentina's heart was torn out. This was the last straw. Not only did they get her fired, but they broke her one little bit of fame. She would never get the chance to get the record back. The reporter on the radio happily explained that the ship had now reached an altitude of 1.3 kilometers. Valentina was now too furious to listen. She turned the radio off.